Family time for everyone. Everywhere.

One idea. 80 countries.

The program was co-initiated by Saskia Schmaus. She has been with Henkel for 18 years. And has always believed that combining family and career, staying financially independent and continuing to grow both personally and professionally should be possible for everyone. For almost four years, she has been responsible for equal opportunity across the company as Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ‏(DEI). Her team: three people. Her biggest initiative to date: the gender-neutral parental leave policy that Henkel introduced worldwide in January 2024. The initiative is part of a broader DEI strategy. The goal is to structurally embed equal opportunity in processes, leadership and concrete offerings for employees worldwide. Parental leave is a lever to fundamentally reshape role models and career trajectories over the long term.

The idea came from within the team itself, following an internal review that made one thing clear: The situation was far from equitable. Some countries had no provisions for fathers at all. Others offered two weeks. “We wanted a minimum standard that applies to everyone,” says Saskia. Eight weeks of fully paid parental leave – regardless of gender, family structure or country of origin, flexible in how it is taken and even usable in parallel with a partner.

Rolling this out across more than 80 countries within six months was a complex legal undertaking. At the same time, the policy sends a strong signal in the global competition for talent. For younger generations such as Gen Z – and soon Gen Alpha – what matters is whether an employer takes employees‘ real lives seriously and does not leave work-life balance to chance. They expect structures that recognize and enable care responsibilities. A globally consistent parental leave policy creates exactly this reliability and makes Henkel more attractive as an employer. With this move, Henkel is the first company among Germany’s largest listed companies to introduce such a policy.

Going beyond legal requirements: How Henkel bridges the gap

Sixty days. A different kind of parenthood.

Simon’s parents come from a lower-tier city. The idea that a father would stay home for several weeks was foreign to their generation. Even a month was considered long for mothers. When he told them he would take two months of parental leave, they were surprised. Then they came to Shanghai and together experienced how two became three. He describes this time as an investment: not a period of rest, but focused energy for a transition that takes time.

The first weeks can also unfold differently. Sebastian in Mexico experienced them as a real test: medical complications, not life-threatening, but demanding, with many doctor’s appointments and specialists. Being at work while his thoughts were elsewhere would have been nearly impossible, he says. It was just as important for him to be there for his wife. It is not only about the baby. The time as a couple, with a child between them, changed their relationship. Because it was shared, rather than divided. For Guiho in South Korea, those early weeks were less turbulent, but equally transformative. He spent his days mastering feedings, circling the house with his newborn, and supporting his wife emotionally and physically. It was a period, he says, that strengthened their partnership, their bond as a family and deepened his understanding of fatherhood.

I’m not helping. I’m doing my part.

Sebastian often repeats a sentence when acquaintances praise his involvement in family life: “I’m not helping. I’m doing my part.” This is where a key effect becomes visible: When more men take parental leave as a matter of course, expectations within the company begin to shift. Care responsibilities are distributed more visibly, career decisions become less one-sided, and over time, fairer development opportunities emerge for everyone. The curiosity some people around him showed about what two months at home with a newborn actually look like reveals just how much this conversation is still opening up. It highlights that this understanding of fatherhood is only slowly gaining more ground and not yet considered normal. Henkel, he says, gave him not just time, but the opportunity to set an example. Guiho echoes this sentiment. In a culture where it is still unusual for fathers to take extended leave, he hopes his decision helps normalize shared caregiving. “It’s not only a mother’s responsibility,” he says. “It’s a shared journey.”

For Saskia, this is precisely where the real value of the initiative lies. The numbers show that it works: In 2025, 34 percent more male employees worldwide took parental leave than the year before. In Algeria, a country with clearly defined gender roles, not a single father took parental leave in 2024. In 2025, there were 84. “I would never have expected that,” she says. “But that’s exactly what it shows: As a company, you have the ability to shape culture from within. And when you do it right, the impact reaches far beyond the workplace.”

Those who lead by example change more than any policy ever could. Matt took the full parental leave also because, as a leader, he knows what his actions signal, and because his team saw it and followed suit. Out of this mindset, PACT was born: Parents and Caregivers Together, an employee resource group he co-founded at Henkel that brings together parents and caregivers through resources, exchange and visibility. In less than a year, the group grew to more than 120 members across North America. It makes Henkel’s benefits visible and gives the topic of parenthood in the workplace a clear framework.

The return: space, not pressure

Whether in Mexico, the United States, South Korea or China, all four describe their return in similar terms. Colleagues asking for photos. No unnecessary contact during leave. Careful handovers that make the transition back smooth. And the feeling that the time off truly counted. Not just on paper. For Matt, there was something else as well: His managers have young children themselves. That creates a kind of unspoken understanding that requires no lengthy explanations.

What remains

Saskia considers the gender-neutral parental leave policy the project with the greatest personal impact of her career. In the past, she developed products and measured their success in market share. That metric does not apply here. “Working on something that directly affects people's lives," Saskia says, "simply feels much more rewarding.” Many other companies have since reached out to learn more about the initiative. She welcomes everyone inspired to adopt a similar approach.

Since becoming the father of a daughter, Sebastian says his perspective has completely changed. “As the father of a girl, you carry a greater responsibility than before.” He thinks further: about a society that continues to evolve, about men who are allowed to experience fatherhood differently. This step, he says, is profound enough to drive real change. You can feel it: in individual families, but also in a corporate culture that is shifting step by step.